The Jonas Trilogy
by denise1
Summary: An early story of mine based on the premise that Jonas Hanson survived his little jump through the gate
1. Chapter 1

            Bad Penny

      By

      Denise

Colonel Jack O'Neill lay on his back, his hands behind his head watching the clouds. 

Not normally how he spent a mission, but damned if this wasn't a nice change of pace from the usual "_wonder if the natives are hostile_", "_what's this_?", "_shoot their way out"_ way their missions tended to be. 

According to base scuttlebutt, SG-1 was voted team not for the faint of heart.  Some old-timers even referred to them as Memphis Belle.  They seemed to see more action than the other 11 SG teams combined.  

This mission however, was an exception to the rule.  /This is the life./  No people, no large carnivorous animals, no evidence of Goa'uld habitation.  Just lots and lots of green grass, tall trees and peace.

Jack shifted his gaze to check on his team.  Over to his left, Dr. Daniel Jackson was surveying a few piles of rocks he found.  Prior to their gating here, the UAV showed no signs of habitation within 20 miles of the gate.  The MALP  also showed nothing in the air to account for a lack of life. 

Maybe instead of Argos, Jack would retire here.  What more could a person ask for than his own private corner of the galaxy.  Jack's world...it had a nice ring to it. 

A movement to his right caught his attention.  Major Samantha Carter was returning, packing her samples in her backpack as she leisurely walked his way.  She sat down beside him.

"Filled your quota of baggies?"

"Yes sir.  You know, unless the tests reveal anything weird, P4A269 could be an alternative to our alpha site."

"You mean another place to hide if the Goa'uld come knocking?"

"Sure.  You have to admit, this place is idyllic."

Daniel walked toward Jack with  a disappointed look on his face.  He was trailed  by Teal'c.  The Jaffa warrior  seemed recently to make Daniel's safety his primary concern.  What an unlikely pair, the allergy ridden anthropologist and the stoic alien warrior. 

Daniel plopped down beside his CO. "Well this has been a waste of Naquadah."

"Huh?"

"Jack there's nothing here.  Either this place has been deserted for so long all traces of civilization are gone or there never was anyone here."

"Well that gate didn't build itself," Jack said, motioning to the device in question.

"We don't know that.  We have no idea how and why the Four built them."

"So colonel, do we stay or go?"

"O'Neill, there is no strategic reason to remain here."

"Oh I don't know Teal'c.  I'm kinda enjoying being on a planet where no one is trying to eat, kill, fold, spindle or mutilate me.  Whatta you say kids?  We have 48 more hours on this rock.  How about a little down time on Hammond?"

"Jack are you suggesting we play hooky?"

"Hooky?"

"He means enjoy 48 hours of unofficial  R&R  Teal'c," Sam explained.

"I could  look at those rocks...artifacts...a bit harder," offered Daniel conspiratorially.

"And I could collect a few more samples...tomorrow," Sam said, getting into the spirit.

"Sweet.  Come on kids, let's pitch our tents and enjoy a night of peace and quiet."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Two hours later, after a filling if not very tasty meal of Jack's special MRE stew, the members of SG-1 were settling down for the night.  Teal'c sat cross legged on the ground  in his kel-no-reem state at the edges of the fire light.  Daniel sat closer to the fire, using his flashlight to write in his journal. 

/Ya know, I really ought  remind him about the meaning of  Top Secret./  Jack remembered going through Daniel's journals when SG-1 cleaned out his apartment after  they thought he was dead on Oannes. 

Once they got their errant archaeologist back, Jack appropriated a foot locker and brought it to Daniel.  If Danny boy was going to write down all sorts of stories and basically the secrets of the universe the least he could do was lock them up. 

Jack knew if Hammond ever found out about the journals he'd order Daniel to keep them on base.  If they ever got out to the general public all hell would break loose. 

Unless someone in Hollywood got them.  Then they'd probably turn them into some stupid sci-fi show. 

Jack turned his attention back to the night sky.  He wished he had his telescope.  It was amazing.  They were thousands of light years from Earth yet all the constellations were still the same. 

OK so Orion was backwards and the big dipper looked like it was about to spill its contents on his head, but most of the basic stars were in the basic places.  Their positions were just a bit skewed.  Jack closed his eyes and sighed in contentment.

"You want first watch sir?" 

Jack opened his eyes and focused on Sam.  First and last watch were the most coveted.  At least those people got uninterrupted sleep.  Mid watch was the worst.  You slept for a couple of hours, just as you were settling into a nice bit of REM sleep, your buddy would wake you up.  Then after a couple of hours listening to everyone else snore, you had to try to wake someone else up and go back to sleep.

"Nah Carter.  You can have it.  Wake me in 3 hours." 

Sam shot him a look of amazement.  Usually Jack avoided mid watch.  She agreed quickly, before he could change his mind.

Sam sat there, listening to the men around her sleep, an occasional snore or rustling of their sleeping bags the only other noise rising over the crackling of the fire.  She looked at her watch.  The colonel was due for his watch in 10 minutes.  She figured she had just enough time to stretch her legs a bit before she woke him and got some sleep herself. 

She got to her feet, stretching.  As she walked past Teal'c he opened his eyes and met her gaze inquiringly.

"Just need to stretch my legs a bit...I'll be back in 5," she reassured him. 

Teal'c nodded and closed his eyes. 

Sam walked away about 50 yards.  Spying a medium sized fallen branch, She picked it up thinking a bit more firewood wouldn't hurt.  Turning back to the camp she failed to see the shadow detach itself from a tree.  Years of training or maybe an ingrained survival instinct made her turn just as her attacker swung his primitive club.  Her soft gasp was drowned out by the sound of wood striking skull  as she slid bonelessly to the ground.  Her attacker dropped his weapon, picked up the unconscious woman and vanished silently into the night.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"O'Neill." 

Jack woke with a start,  instinct making him reach for his gun.  His sleep fogged mind registered the presence of Teal'c."Teal'c, what...?"  Jack looked at his watch, "Carter should have woke me up half an hour ago."

"That is why I wake you O'Neill.  Major Carter said she was going to stretch her legs, she should have returned  20 minutes ago."

"Damn,"  Jack stood up. "Which way?"

Teal'c pointed.  Jack gathered his gun and walked over to the form of Daniel wrapped in his sleeping bag."Danny."

"Huh?"

"Daniel get up."

"Wha...it's not morning."

"No it's not.  Carter's missing."

"What?"

"Took a little walk.  Something's fishy here and I don't want to split us up any more."  Daniel scrambled out of his bedroll and fumbled for his glasses.  He got to his feet.  "What about the gear?"

"We'll come back for it...Teal'c." 

The Jaffa led the way.  The party walked slowly.  This planet had two moons, unfortunately neither was up and shining at the moment.  Teal'c found Sam's trail, a faint path where her steps had knocked the dew off the grasses.  They were about 50 yards from camp when Daniel's flashlight illuminated an ominous sight.

"Jack." 

Daniel bent down and picked up the club, the beam from his flashlight reflected off the shiny dark stain. "Is this what I hope it isn't?" 

Jack touched the stain and rubbed the liquid between his fingers, his flashlight illuminating a couple of short blond hairs mixed with the blood. "Crap."

"It is blood DanielJackson."

"So much for deserted."  Jack surveyed the area.  He saw nothing.  It was simply too dark.

"Jack how...?"

"I don't know Daniel.  I doubt she hit herself.  Go grab the gear, just the basics.  We'll lose this trail when the sun rises." 

The two men hurried back to their camp.  Jack strained his eyes vainly, a tiny part of him hoping to see Carter come walking out of the trees.  He looked down at the blood on his fingers.  "Dammit Carter.  What did you get yourself into?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

/Oh God...my head hurts./  Sam groaned and forced her eyes open.  /What the hell?/  She brought her hand up to touch her aching head and immediately regretted it when her fingers came away sticky with blood.  / Oh man, what hit me?/ 

She surveyed her surroundings, trying to make her eyes focus.  Cave walls, illuminated by  firelight, packed dirt floor. A small pile of what looked like pots told her this wasn't an animal's den, at least not the four legged type.  She was lying on a pile of furs.  The cave seemed deserted. 

She forced herself to her feet, fingers digging into the  wall as she was hit by a wave of vertigo. /Oh yeah, concussion...big time./  She felt for her weapons.  The rifle was gone, so was her sidearm and her knife.  She wiggled her foot and felt the reassuring presence of the small pocket knife she had started to carry.  She looked around the chamber but saw no sign of her weapons.  /I'll come back for them later./  

Walking carefully over to the fire she picked up a small branch to use as a torch.  The cave was bigger at one end than the other.  Hoping the big end meant escape she slowly started to make her way out.  Maybe she could just slip away and find the guys.  She staggered along occasionally stopping and closing her eyes when the dizziness became too much. 

Finally she felt a faint breeze and saw daylight.  She let the torch drop to the ground and squinted her eyes as the sudden brightness shot daggers of pain through her head. 

She stood at the mouth of the cave, shading her eyes with her hand.  The cave was about 30 feet up and offered an aerial view of the valley below.  There off to her right  about 3 miles away was the gate. /OK...two gates, close enough./  She looked around...there was a path down. /Doesn't look too steep...I can do this./

"Now Sami, you didn't come all this way to leave empty-handed, did you?" 

At the sound of a voice behind her she spun around, fingers fumbling at her empty holster.  Her eyes went wide and her last conscious thought as the lost her balance and fell off the ledge articulated itself in one choked word, "Jonus?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack, Daniel, and Teal'c trekked silently through the woods. The last of the dew had dried hours ago.  Now Teal'c was tracking Sam only by muffled footprints and occasional smears of blood on the foliage.  Jack knew from experience head wounds bled like a mother but he was concerned how long Sam's had been bleeding.  They had been walking for more than 6 hours.

"O'Neill." 

Jack turned to see Teal'c pointing up at a rock face.  Jack saw Sam stagger out of a opening about 30 feet up. / Thank god she's still alive./  The right side of her head and uniform were covered with blood, but she was alive.  She didn't see her team mates below, instead she seemed to be looking off in the distance. 

Jack guessed she was getting her bearings, looking for the gate.  Before Jack could call out he saw her spin around and start to fall.  Her plummet was halted when a figure lunged forward and pulled her back. 

Jack watch the man carry an obviously unconscious Sam back into the cave.

"Jack?"

"Yeah Daniel."

"Did I just see who I thought  I saw?"

"If you believe you saw Captain Jonus Hansen you would be correct DanielJackson."

"So we all saw a ghost?"

"No we saw a dead man."

OK...OK...that's...that's...wrong. Jack he's dead.  The natives on P3X513 tossed him

through the gate without opening the iris.  He's..."

"An iris pancake Daniel, I know."

"We were obviously mistaken O'Neill.  Captain Hansen is alive."

"Ya think?"

"So what do we do?"

"Well we sure as hell ain't leaving Carter with him..."

"And?" Jack sighed.

"And homicidal  megalomaniac or not he's SGC.  We don't leave people behind..."  Daniel shot him a look, "On purpose.  We need to take him back with us."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack cautiously climbed the path up to the cave.  He honestly didn't know what he'd find. 

Two years ago Jonus Hansen was in command of SG-9.  Then inexplicably he wigged out murdering Frakes, his team anthropologist, then he tried to kill Connor, not to mention all of SG-1. 

All because of his delusion of god hood. 

It actually wasn't unusual for any SG team to come across natives who believed only Gods came through the gate.  They had the Goa'ulds to blame for that.  SOP was to dispel those beliefs. 

Hansen and his team didn't do that, in fact he encouraged them. If that wasn't bad enough he then really went off the deep end.  He forced the natives to build him a temple.  There was never an accurate count but the SGC guessed Hansen was responsible for hundreds of deaths. 

Up to this point SG-1 honestly believed the man was dead.  All Jack could figure was that Hansen deliberately didn't dial Earth,  or he mis-dialed and when the angry natives threw him through the gate he landed on this planet instead of smacking into the iris. 

Jack  didn't know if he was doing the right thing trying to bring Hansen back to Earth.  Delusional or not the man was a mass murderer.  On Earth he would probably be locked into some highly classified loony bin. 

Life in prison was no future. 

But leaving him here wasn't a viable option either.  Even two year old intelligence could do some real damage in the wrong hands.  There was just no easy, black and white answer.

Jack silently entered the cave, slowly feeling his way in the dim light.  The cave took an abrupt turn to the  right.  Jack saw firelight flickering on the rough wall.  He dropped to his knees and carefully peeked around the corner. 

Sam was still unconscious, lying on her side on a pile of furs that must serve Hansen as a bed.    Hansen was kneeling, using a small wet rag to carefully clean the blood off her face. 

Jack looked at Hansen's face.  He saw only concern, no trace of the madness that once burned in his eyes.  This was far too weird.  Could a man go sane just as quickly as he went insane? 

Jack didn't know.  What he did know was that the confrontation couldn't be put off forever. 

Making a quick decision, he got to his feet, took a few silent steps back, then walked into the cave as casually as he would walk into his living room.  Seeing the movement, Hansen looked up from his ministrations, "O'Neill, I was wondering where you were."

"Really?"

"Of course. I know my Sami's a bit bullheaded but I couldn't see you letting my wife run off on her own looking for me."

"Oh I think It's safe to say she wasn't alone." /What the hell is he talking about?  Him and Carter married?/ Jack squatted down by Sam, checking her pulse.  "What happened to her?"

"I didn't see it but it must have been the monster."

"Monster?"

"It must have been.  Until you arrived it was just him and me."

"Who is this monster... A Goa'uld?"

"No, no, he's a regular big foot.  All I've seen in the past two years has been footprints where I haven't walked and occasionally someone helping himself to a snare or two."

"So how'd you get stuck here?" Jack asked conversationally.

"Dunno.  Went through the gate like normal but instead of P3X513 I ended up here...without my team."

"You didn't try to get back?"

"And get smeared  on the iris?  No way.  Anyway every time I get near the gate I pass out.  Must be an energy barrier of some kind."

"MMM,"  Jack agreed.  Something was definitely fishy here.  The man before him was nothing like the homicidal maniac that  nearly killed him and his team two years ago. 

In fact he was willing to bet Hansen's "Monster" existed more in the man's mind than in any plane of reality.  He'd seen symptoms like this before, men who could no longer deal with the guilt of their actions.  They buried them much the same way severely abused children created different personalities to deal with trauma. 

Jack figured Hansen was stable enough for now, but who knew how going through the gate would affect him. 

Jack's dark thoughts were broken by a small moan from Sam.  He looked down.  Her eyes fluttered open and her right hand tried to find its way to her head in an instinctive response to find the source of her pain.  Jack reached out and gently grabbed her hand.

"Don't."

"Huh?"

"Trust me Carter, it'll just hurt worse." 

Sam looked toward the source of the voice.  "Colonel...what?"  She struggled to sit up.

"Whoa, easy." 

Jack reached out a steadying hand.  "I remember the strangest thing..."

"Sami, how ya feel?"  At the sound of Hansen's voice Sam's eyes grew wide as she shifted her gaze to the face of her supposedly dead ex-fiancee.  Jack saw confusion, disbelief and fear flicker across her face in quick succession.

"Uuh..."

"I think the Major could use a drink, couldn't ya?" 

Taking her cue: "Yeah, Jonus, can I...aah...have a drink?"  Hansen bent down and picked up a small wooden bowl.

"Sure Sami.  There's a spring in the back of the cave.  I'll be right back." 

Sam and Jack watched the man grab a small torch from the fire and disappear into the depths of the cave. "He's..."

"Alive," Jack finished.

"How?"

"Must have dialed here instead of Earth.  Unless you've started playing with quantum mirrors now?"  

Sam shot Jack a cold look.  "No.  Guess you haven't.  Hey..."  Jack held up two fingers in front of Sam's face.  "How many?" 

Sam tried to focus but failed. "Ooh...too many."  She groaned as she drew up her knees and rested her head in her hands propped on her knees.

"I'm not surprised.  He whacked you pretty good."

"He?"

"I'm pretty sure it was Hansen who attacked you.  He claims there's a monster around but I've seen similar symptoms before...almost  a Sybil thing."

"Disassociative disorder,"  she mumbled.

"Huh?"

"Multiple personalities."

"Yeah.  In Hansenland he gated here instead of 513."

"So he never murdered his team or all those people."

"Right.  He's an innocent little Robinson Caruso," Jack answered sarcastically.

"What are we going to do?"

"Murderer or not, we can't leave him here.  If some Goa'uld gets a hold of him..."

"So we take him back to life in a hospital for the criminally insane?"

"Catch 22."

Sam nodded.  They heard the shuffle of steps approaching.  Jack reached into his pack and handed her a couple of pain killers.  She accepted them gratefully. 

"Oh by the way, in Hansenland you're married to him and have spent the last two years searching the galaxy for your lost love."

"Now you tell me,"  she muttered as Hansen stepped into the main chamber. He walked forward and offered Sam the bowl.  She accepted it, drinking deeply as she washed down the aspirin.

"You don't seem glad to see me Sami." 

"I...just...can't believe it," she answered truthfully.

"Hansen, you have any idea where Carter's gear went?"

"The monster..."

"Yeah, where does he put stuff?"

"Sometimes I find things in a small cave just below this one."

"Sweet.  Look we obviously need to get Carter back to some real medical attention, and we can't go without you.  Can you show me the cave so we can get back to Earth?"

"Sure," Hansen agreed. 

He and Jack stood up and helped Sam to her feet."You OK to climb down?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," She reassured.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The trio climbed carefully down the narrow path, Hansen leading the way, then Sam with Jack bringing up the rear.  Jack fought the urge to keep Sam as far away from her ex-fiancee as possible.  But considering the concussion he knew she had, being in the middle was definitely the safest place to be in case she got dizzy or passed out again.  

They found the cave just as Hansen promised and after asking him to stay outside to watch for the monster, Sam and Jack entered the small recess. 

Just as he had predicted, all her gear had been safely stowed.  Jack saw relief flicker across her face as she slid her sidearm and knife into their respective holsters.  He handed her  the rifle and she slipped the strap cautiously over her head.

"Got everything?" 

She checked the weapons, making sure they were still loaded. "It's all here."

"Good.  I think our best bet to get him back to the SGC is to play along with his little delusion.  As long as he's in Hansenland we should be OK."

"What about when we get to the gate?  If anything's going to trigger his memories, that will."

"We'll get Teal'c to shadow him." 

Sam nodded, the closed her eyes briefly against the pain. "You OK?" Jack asked concerned.

"Remember how you described feeling after the Ancients played with your head?"

"Yeah," Jack winced in remembered pain.

"I wish mine felt that good."

"Just a few more hours," he reassured her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

O'Neill, Carter, and Hansen reached the base of the cliff.  Jack heard a small rustle in the bushes and wasn't surprised to see Teal'c and Daniel come into view. Both men looked relieved to see their missing teammate.

"Daniel, Teal'c, looks like our mission was a success,"  Jack hurried to say.

"Indeed."

"Mission?"

"Yeah Daniel, our search for Captain Hansen.  You know the one we've been carrying on for the last two years ever since he failed to arrive at P3X513 and got marooned here." /Come on Daniel, play along./ 

Jack saw understanding dawn in Daniel's eyes.

"Riiight. Of course how could I forget,"  Daniel turned toward the castaway.  "Captain Hansen, I don't believe we've met, I'm Daniel Jackson."

"Nice to meet you.  You helped Sami find me."

"Sami...ooh...Sam...yes, yes we've been helping her."

"Well I can't thank you enough."

"Sure...sure...no problem."

"Hey folks, we gotta get a move on if we're gonna get out of here before nightfall. Teal'c, you take point." 

With that the group retraced their steps toward the stargate.  Jack surreptitiously signaled for Daniel to hang back. "Danny, I want you to keep close to Carter."

"Why?"

"I'm pretty sure Hansen's who attacked her and I'm afraid the closer we get to the gate the more likely it is he'll wigout again."

"So what do we do?"

"Warn Teal'c.  Keep an eye on him." 

Daniel nodded and jogged up to Sam and Hansen.  Jack heard snatches of conversation as Daniel began to grill Jonus about his experiences of the last two years.  This was one time Jack was grateful for Daniel's gift of gab.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"There's a potato like vegetable I found.  I was going to plant some in a garden this year.  They're not bad, but I really miss the butter and sour cream."

"I know.  I loved living on Abydos, but after a few months I would have given almost anything for a cup of coffee or a chocolate bar."

"Coffee...remember Sami, the French roast I got at that little place in Manitou Springs?"

"Yeah, the shop's still there." 

Daniel noticed his partner's less than enthusiastic response.  He remembered how tough it was for her the last time they dealt with Hansen.  It was rough enough dealing with a comrade going bad but having your ex-fiancee trying to kill you, not to mention working hundreds of people to death really sucked. 

Daniel knew he hadn't been the only one to feel a sort of guilty relief when they believed Hansen had died.

"So Jonus, what else have you found out about this world?" 

Sam listened to Jonus and Daniel start a discourse on the various plants and animals of the planet.  She was grateful for Daniel's intervention.  It saved her from having to deal with him. 

This whole incident was dredging up feelings she had thought long since buried.  Two years ago she tried to shoot him but couldn't pull the trigger.  Then when the natives threw him through he gate to a supposedly closed iris...all she felt was relief. 

Relief that he was conveniently gone and she didn't have to deal with him.  A tiny part of her wished for a timely bolt of lightning, poisonous snake, hell even a Goa'uld attack...anything to just make Jonus go away again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As the group cleared the trees the stargate came into sight.  Jack motioned to Teal'c to close ranks.  Jack had a feeling Hansen's "monster" was going to make an appearance any time now.  Hansen's comment that he passed out or was attacked when ever he approached the gate told O'Neill Hansen's subconscious didn't want him to leave his self imposed prison.  

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In the end, they carried an unconscious, bound and gagged Jonus Hansen through the gate. 

Despite their vigilance the man caught them by surprise. 

As they approached the DHD, Hansen spun around, yanking Daniel's sidearm from his holster and clubbing the young man on the head.  Though stunned, Daniel exhibited that chivalrous attitude that had gotten them in trouble so many time before as he threw himself on top of Sam, fortunately pushing her out of the path of the bullet Hansen sent her way. 

Without looking to see if his first bullet had found its mark, Hansen shot Teal'c in the leg, sending the Jaffa to the ground.  Jack raised his rifle but before could fire he saw Hansen fall backwards. 

Sam had pushed a dazed Daniel off her and pulled her sidearm.  This time she did pull the trigger.  Jack carefully walked over to Hansen, kicking the gun from his slack hands.  Jack knelt down and felt for a pulse.

"Colonel?"

"He's alive."  Jack looked back at Sam.  "How's Daniel?"

"Just stunned I think."

"Actually I feel like a bad morning after," Daniel spoke up as he sat up clutching his head.  "That son of a bitch broke my glasses."

"Teal'c?"  Jack called as he proceeded to use his gun strap to tie Hansen's hands firmly behind his back.

"I am injured but nothing my larvae cannot repair."

"Well, that was fun.  Danny can you dial us home?"

"Yeah," Daniel got to his feet and walked slowly to DHD shoving the pieces of his glasses into his pocket.  "What about the gear Jack?"

"Someone  else can come back for it." 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Major Carter suffered a severe concussion, maybe a hairline skull fracture and a laceration that took 10 stitches to close. She's in the infirmary for the next 48 hours, then light duty for a week.  Daniel just has a bump on the head.  Nothing a few aspirin won't cure.  Teal'c was shot in the left thigh, thanks to his larvae there won't even be a mark on him by morning.  Colonel O'Neill was unscathed,"  Dr. Janet Frasier reported to General Hammond.

"And Hansen?"

"He is in a holding cell on level 16 in restraints.  The bullet hit no major organs."

"His mental status?"

"He still believes his version of the past.  I've arranged for him to be transferred to  the Air Force Academy Psych Ward."

"Where we sent Jackson during his...difficulties."

"It's the only mental facility for highly classified patients we have."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

            Jonus Hansen looked out the barred windows.  They couldn't imprison him here forever.Somehow he would escape this conspiracy and get back to his Sami.  It would just take time.  If she could search the galaxy for him, he would find her on one tiny little planet.  After all, every God needs his Goddess.

fin


	2. Chapter 2

     In for a Penny...

By

Denise

"In coming traveler.  Off-world activation."  In the control room of the SGC, Master Sergeant Harriman pushed the button that spun the titanium-trinium iris closed, creating a virtually impenetrable shield that protected the SGC from attack.  Davis looked up from her monitor, amusement twinkling in her brown eyes.  "Open it up.  Receiving SG-1's signal."  Harriman nodded as he pushed the button, picking up the phone and dialing the general's office without looking.  "Sir SG-1's returning...yes sir."  He returned the receiver to its cradle as the control room was flooded with a soft blue light, the roaring whoosh of the wormhole audible even through the bullet proof glass.

The metal stairs clanged slightly as the general came down from his office.  General George Hammond had a great fondness for everyone  at the SGC but SG-1 held a special place in his heart.  It took a special kind of commander to ride rough shod over 12 teams of soldiers, explorers and scientists.  Not to mention all the strange and unusual thing they encountered.

First there was that disease that turned everyone into some kind of caveman.  Then there were those aliens who walked through the walls, the aliens who made everyone disappear not to mention the Goa'uld and the Tok'ra.  Yep, this job was no where near boring.

Looking down Harriman saw SG-1 casually saunter through the watery event horizon.  His hand hovering over the iris control relaxed as there were no frantic calls for the iris to close or for medical assistance.

"Looks like they're in one piece." the general remarked.

"Yes sir."

"Wormhole deactivated."  The general left the control room, walking down the flight of stairs and through the door to the embarkation room. 

"Welcome back SG-1.  How was P3Y983?"

"Sandy sir." O'Neill reported, removing his hat, sending a shower of sand to the floor.

"No signs of habitation or technology sir." interjected Major Samantha Carter.

"Yeah, Danny was bored."  Jack pointed to the young anthropologist shaking sand from his hair.

"Very well. We'll debrief Monday.  Dismissed SG-1."  With that the general left the room.

"Man I need a shower.  I got sand in places I don't even want to think about."  They handed their rifles and sidearms to the weapons officer and left the embarkation room.

"Carter, you want the showers first?" 

She shook her head.  "I need to put these samples away.  You guys can go first."

"Sweet."  At the next junction they separated, the men going to the locker room and Sam headed to her lab. "I hate desert planets."

"I don't know... kinda reminds me of Abydos."  Daniel shook his head again, sending more sand through the air.

"There are practical reasons for shaving one's head DanielJackson."

Sam chuckled as the voices of her team mates faded.  She unlocked her lab and walked into the darkened room, her hand reaching for the light switch without looking.  In the past 3 years this room had become her sanctuary.  This was where she could come to think, to plan and sometimes to hide.  As a military brat she spent most of her childhood literally not knowing where she would be living next week.  Such a transient lifestyle meant she habitually traveled light.  When she transferred to Colorado from the Pentagon she had been able to pack all her belongings in 6 hours.

In the last 3 years however she found herself starting to collect things.  Over in the corner was that horrid headdress from Simarka.  She'd never admit it but the matching dress was hanging in her closet at home.  Drawings from Cassie and Merrin decorated the walls in places.  Hidden away in a drawer was Narim's device holding a recording of his feelings for her.  Locked away in the same drawer was her medal for destroying Klorel's ship and saving Earth.  There was a part of her that just couldn't hang that on the wall, too many people died to feel really proud about it.  Also locked away in that drawer was her engagement ring from Jonus Hansen.  She didn't know why she kept it really.  Originally she'd thought him permanently out of her life but then he transferred to the SGC.  Things were tense for a while but he seemed willing to behave himself.  Then came SG-9's mission to P3X513.

To make a long sad story short, Hansen flipped out believing himself to be a god.  They never knew for sure how many natives he massacred but they did know he cold-bloodedly murdered one of his own team, tried to kill the remaining two members not to mention all of SG-1.  The natives tossed him through the gate  supposedly to Earth and a closed iris.  For almost two years they thought he was dead. Unfortunately they found a very alive Jonus Hansen living the life of a castaway on P4A269.  SG-1 brought him back to Earth.  But not before he attacked Sam, assaulted Daniel, shot Teal'c and tried to shoot Colonel O'Neill.  It had taken a bullet from Sam's gun to stop him.  Hansen was now locked up in the maximum security wing of the Air Force Academy Psych Ward.  She should of felt relieved but she didn't.

Now instead of Jonus haunting an occasional depressed moment, he haunted her waking hours. Her mailbox at home was full of his letters.  She'd stopped reading them after the first one.  While a castaway Jonus created for himself his own little fantasy world.  In Hansenland, as Colonel O'Neill liked to call it, he and Sam were married and she spent two years searching the galaxy for her lost love.

Now that he was back on Earth, he wouldn't leave her alone.  She'd changed her phone number, returned the letters, even returned the ring.  He'd simply found out her new number, kept sending more letters and sent her back the ring.  Now he was sending her letters here at work.  He'd filled her voice mail full of messages until she'd informed the general and gotten the number blocked.  She knew most of the letters were now being intercepted.  The interference made the SGC a haven but it couldn't last.  She couldn't let it.  Dammit she was a grown woman, an Air Force Major.  She'd been to various uncharted corners of the galaxy, thwarted alien attacks and hell even killed a "god" or two along the way.  She couldn't spend her life hiding from one delusional megalomaniac.

"Sam."  She jumped and turned to face the voice.

"Daniel."

"Whoa...little jumpy today?"

"Sorry." She began to fidget with her pack, clumsily pulling out the samples she was supposed to be putting away.

"What's got you so wound up?"

"Nothing." Daniel walked closer to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Sam, you're wound tighter than a top.  What's up?"  Sam sighed and pointed toward a small pile of envelopes. 

"Just letting my fan club bug me."  Daniel walked over a picked up the stack of about 10 letters.

"He's still harassing you?"

"And then some."  She raked her fingers through her hair.

"Can't you just...I don't know...tell him to bug off?"

"Daniel I've tried.  He refuses to believe it." She said tiredly.

"Sam, trust me I know from experience...he can't get out of there."

"I know Daniel."

"Hey Danny boy...we got a date with a doctor.  You're not going to stand her up are you?"  Jack O'Neill walked into Sam's lab, his hair still damp from the shower.

"Oh, right.  I just stopped to tell Sam the shower's all hers."

"Thanks Daniel...I'll see you later...Colonel."  She walked from the room, the samples forgotten.  Jack walked over to Daniel.

"Hansen still buggin her?"

"Yeah." Daniel held up the stack of letters.  "Keeps killin trees."

"Damn, I thought these were supposed to be intercepted at the gate.  Who the hell keeps sending them through?"  Daniel shrugged.

"It's a big base Jack."

"I'm halfway tempted to go by that hospital and knock him into reality."

"Doing that will just play into his delusion.  He already believes we're keeping Sam from him.  We're either keeping her prisoner or have brainwashed her.  Seeing you would just confirm his theories."

"Yeah Danny, guess you're right."  Jack admitted grudgingly.  "Still wish we'd never found him."

"Me too." Daniel agreed sincerely as the two men left the lab and headed to the infirmary.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So any headaches?  Dizziness? Vertigo?" Janet asked, shining her penlight in Sam's eyes.

"No I think they're finally going away." Said Sam referring to the headaches she had been suffering since being injured by Hansen.  The madman whacked her on the head with a club giving her a severe concussion and almost fracturing her skull.  As it is she now had a nice scar fortunately hidden by her hair, where it had taken 10 stitches to close up the gash on her head.

"Cassie and I are having a night in, pizza, ice cream...I rented Dirty Dancing.  Want to join us?"

"I don't know Janet...I have tons of stuff to do."

"Anything that can't wait until Monday?" Janet coaxed.

"Well..." Sam began, then remembered her resolution. "Actually nothing that can't wait."

"Great, I'm off duty at 1800. Want to come over about 1845?"

"Sounds great."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Come."  General Hammond looked up from his desk to see Jack O'Neill walk into his office. "Colonel?"

"General...we've got a little problem."  Jack walked forward and dropped the  pile of unopened letters on Hammond's desk.  The older man took a look at the return address.

"I thought these were supposed to be stopped at the gate?"

"Well somebody screwed up.  General isn't there something we can do?  Can't Mackenzie keep him from writing or something?"

"Legally...no.  Colonel, we locked that man away without a trial.  Now fortunately him being involved with a highly classified project allows us to do that.  But unless he directly threatens Major Carter our hands are tied."

"Come on general, since when does the military let rights get in the way?  That man is destroying her.  It's not enough he nearly killed her on that planet but now he's killing her by inches.  She literally jumps every time the phone rings for crying out loud!  She rarely leaves the mountain anymore.  The only times she seems to relax is when we're off planet."  Hammond sighed.

"I'll talk to Mackenzie.  Hansen's privileges were supposed to be revoked weeks ago.  Somehow he's figuring a way around the restrictions."

"I don't suppose there's anywhere else we can send him...I don't know...somewhere nice and far away?"

"We've thought of that.  We simply have no facility for such highly classified people."  Jack got up to leave the room.

"Maybe bringing him back was a mistake.  I shoulda just left him marooned."

"Colonel, you made the right decision.  Hansen's too valuable to leave lying around the universe."  Jack nodded and left the room.  Hammond knew his reassurances fell on deaf ears.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

'I...had...the time of my life...'

"I must of seen this movie a few dozen times."

"My dad bought it for me on my birthday.  I think I watched it every week for a year."  Sam answered laying her head back on the sofa cushions and closing her eyes with a tired sigh.  Janet watched her friend relax with concern in her eyes.

"You OK?"

"Just tired."

"Still getting letters from your secret admirer?" Sam nodded.

"There was a stack waiting for me at home.  Janet how do I convince him to just leave me alone?" she asked, tears welling up in her eyes.  Janet reached out and enveloped her friend in a hug.

"I don't know.  We'll figure something out."  She promised.  "Look why don't you stay here tonight and get some rest?"  Sam nodded, dashing the tears from her cheeks.

"Sam's gonna stay?"  Cassie asked excitedly.

"Yes honey, we're going to have a little slumber party."  Sam pulled the girl into her lap and gave her a watery smile.

"Ya think your mom will let us go to the arcade in Manitou Springs?"

"Really? Can we get popcorn too?"  Janet gave in with an exaggerated sigh.

"OK, popcorn too."  The three ladies grabbed their respective coats and went out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was a much more relaxed Sam Carter who signed in at the front gate Monday morning. 

She swiped her card in the lock and carefully balancing the coffee and donut she'd gotten from the commissary as she entered her lab.  Leaving the door ajar she clicked on the radio she technically shouldn't have in the facility and hummed along with the song on the oldies station as she waited for her computer to boot up. 

"Major."

"Oh general, come in.  Is there something I can do for you?"  General Hammond walked into Sam's lab, taking in her neatly organized clutter.

"No Major.  I was just going to tell you Hansen is going to be moved to Leavenworth today."

"Really sir? That's...that's great general.  Thank you."  General Hammond quietly walked over to the young woman and gently put his hand on her shoulder. 

"He'll be out of the state by nightfall."  Sam closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath.

"Thank you sir."  Hammond nodded and left the room.  Sam sat at her computer, took a generous bite of her donut and began to work feeling better than she'd felt in weeks.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So is the scuttlebutt true?"  Janet asked as she sat down beside Sam who was finishing her sandwich in the commissary.

"Which scuttlebutt?"

"Somebody's going away."  Sam nodded.

"I don't even want to think about who pulled which strings.  All I know is that he'll be 500 miles away by nightfall."

"That's great."

"This calls for a celebration.  You and Cassie want to come over tonight?  Chinese and Scrabble."

"She'll make you watch Ally McBeal."  Janet warned.

"I can live with it.  Daniel makes us watch Discovery channel."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"More wine?"

"Sure." Sam picked up the bottle and filled  the glasses.  Cassie was lying on the floor contentedly drawing.

"When's your next mission?"

"We go to P83943 Thursday.  Looks like a nice tree covered planet."

"That'll make the colonel happy."  Sam laughed.

"Yeah the only thing he complains about more than Daniel looking at rocks is trees."  The doorbell rang.  "That was fast."  Sam got up to answer it. "Cassie, dinner's here." she called as she opened the door.  Wine splashed on her jeans as the forgotten glass shattered on the floor.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

General Hammond handed Jack a folder.  "These are the latest MALP images.  UAV shows no signs of life.  Should be a routine mission."

"Oh we just love those."  Hammond shot a tolerant look at his sarcastic colonel.  The ringing of the phone on the general's desk cut off any comment he might of made.  Jack got up, ready to leave if the general motioned him away.  Instead the general shot to his feet, his face flushing red with anger.

"WHAT!! HOW THE HELL DID HE GET AWAY?!  I DON'T NEED EXCUSES I NEED ANSWERS NOW!!"  He slammed the phone down and Jack walked forward, a bad feeling creeping down his spine.  Hammond looked at Jack, anger burning in his eyes and confirmed Jack's suspicions.  "Hansen escaped during the transfer.  No one noticed until he was overdue at Leavenworth.  The Colorado Highway Patrol just found the vehicle."

"How the hell..."

"He killed one guard, shot another."

"General, request permission..."

"Go, take whoever you need.  I'll try to call her house.  Get her back here until we find him."  Jack dropped the folder and took off at a run.  He stopped only at the armory to get his gun and nearly ran Daniel and Teal'c over.

"Whoa, Jack what...?"

"Daniel, Teal'c, Hansen's out.  We gotta go get Carter."

"Shit."

"This does not bode well O'Neill."

"Ya think?"  The three men ran towards the elevator.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Sam, what's wrong?"  Janet walked into the entry way and stopped dead at the sight of Sam held at gunpoint. "Sam..."  Janet repeated, fear for her daughter warring with her desire to help her friend.  Jonus shifted his gaze from a stunned Sam to Janet.

"You! You helped those that imprisoned me.  What are you doing here with my Sami?"  Hansen roughly grabbed Sam by the arm and pulled her down the hallway, his shoes crunching on the broken glass.

"Mom?"  Janet backed into the living room grabbing her daughter  pushing the child behind her back.  Jonus pointed the gun at Janet.

"You...you helped them keep me away from Sami."  Seeing Cassie's terrified eyes peeking around Janet snapped Sam out of her shock.

"No, no Jonus." She cried putting out her hand to push the gun down.  "It wasn't her fault.  They...they used her daughter.  They kidnapped Cassie.  She had to help them.  It wasn't her fault."

"Really?" Jonus asked dubiously.

"Yes." Janet quickly agreed.  "They threatened Cassie.  I had to help them Captain." /_Please believe us./_

"Sami vouches for you.  That's the only reason I do not kill you.  But I will not let you stop us."

"Jonus she won't."  Sam promised desperately. "She'll let us go...won't you Janet?" /_God Janet, don't get heroic_./

"Right...I won't stand in your way."  Janet promised.

"Yes, you won't."  Jonus lunged toward Janet and hit her with the butt of his gun.  She collapsed as Cassie began to scream.

"JONUS!"  Sam pulled herself out of Jonus' grasp and knelt beside her fallen friend.  Sam shakily felt for a pulse then pulled a crying Cassie into her arms.  "Honey, she's OK.  I promise. She's OK."  Jonus grabbed Sam cruelly by the hair, pulling her away from Janet and Cassie, the girl falling out of her arms.

"Saaam."  Jonus pointed his pistol at the girl.  Sam reached up and pulled the gun down as he fired, the bullet tore into the floor instead of the girl.  Cassie scrambled to hide in the corner.

"NO, JONUS, NO. SHE'S INNOCENT.  YOU CAN'T HURT HER!  JONUS PLEASE DON'T, PLEASE." Sam begged, "Let's just go.  She can't stop us, please Jonus let's go.  Please?"  As he listened to Sam's desperate pleading the look on Jonus' face changed from one  of maniacal madness to innocent gentleness.

"Of course Sami. We need to go.  Where it all began.  We can't be late."

"Yes Jonus. Let's just go, right now please, please."  Sam was desperate to get him away from the helpless woman and girl.  Jonus opened the closet and pulled out Sam's jacket and held it out for her to put on.  She put it on as he picked up the keys to her jeep.

"Mind if I drive?" he asked politely.  Sam nodded her assent as her offered her his arm to escort her to her vehicle.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack screeched the humvee to a halt a few houses down from Sam's.  "Still no answer?"  he asked Daniel who'd been trying to call Sam on the cell phone.

"No. Just keeps ringing."

"I understood Major Carter possessed an answering mechanism."

"Yeah.  Teal'c check out the back."  Jack said offering the Jaffa a pistol.  "Daniel, you hang back."  Three fourths of SG-1 cautiously approached the house.  Jack drew and cocked his pistol as he climbed the porch steps.  The front door was ajar.  Jack silently opened the screen and slipped inside.  He heard a crunch and looked down at pieces of glass scattered in a sticky pool of what smelled like wine.  This wasn't good.  Jack looked around the corner into the living room.  "Shit." he muttered as he walked into the room and knelt by Janet.  The doctor was still unconscious.  He felt for a pulse.

"Jack?"

"Dammit Daniel, I thought I told you to stay back."  Daniel walked into the room and joined Jack.

"How is she?"

"Just unconscious I think."

"Uncle Jack."  Jack turned his head toward the small voice. 

"Damn." he muttered.  Jack stood up, shoving his pistol into the small of his back.  He squatted in front of the girl hiding in the corner. "Cassie?"

"Mommy's dead."

"Oh no Cass.  She's not dead.  She's OK. She's just asleep."

"No he...hurt her.  He hurt Sam."  Jack reached out and pulled the trembling girl into his arms wiping the tears from her cheeks and hugged her tight.

"She's OK Cassie." He promised.  Janet let out a small moan and began to stir. "See she's waking up."  Jack brought the girl over to her mother just as Janet opened her eyes with a groan.

"OOH."

"Easy Doc."  Daniel said as he helped her sit up. She focused her eyes on the girl's tear stained face and held out wobbly arms.

"Cassie."  The girl launched herself into her mother's arms and held her tight.  "Ssh Cassie, I'm OK." Janet reassured her.

"O'Neill, no one is around the house."  Jack nodded and turned his attention back to Janet.

"What happened?"

"Jonus.  He came to the door...took Sam."

"He hurt her."  Cassie said.

"Cass, how did he hurt her?" Daniel asked gently.

"He pulled her hair, he made her cry."

"We'll find her."  Jack promised.  "Any idea where he took her?" Jack asked Janet.  She shook her head.

"He said he'd take her to where it all began."  Cassie said, trying to concentrate on repeating the words right.  Daniel got an intense look on his face.

"Daniel?"

"The bridge."

"What?"

"The Royal Gorge Bridge...It has to be." Jack shook his head.

"Has to be what Danny?"

"Sam told me once.  That's where he proposed to her.  On the Royal Gorge Bridge."  Jack got up.

"Daniel, call Hammond, get us some help coming.  You stay here with Doc and Cassie.  Teal'c and I will go after Sam."  Daniel picked up the phone.

"He must of cut the lines. It's dead."

"In my bag." Janet said. "My cell phone."

"Go Jack. We'll be fine."  Daniel reassured his friend. 

"Get them to the mountain.  They'll be safe there." Jack tossed over his shoulder as he and Teal'c left the house.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jonus put Sam's jeep in park and turned off the ignition.

"We're here my love."

"Yes we are."

"Aren't you excited?  I remember how much you loved this place."

"Of course Jonus.  It's my favorite. /_Or was_./ Why have you brought me here?"

"It's a surprise." /_Just what I need, more surprises_./

"Great."

"Let's go for a walk." he suggested.  Sam got out of the vehicle. /_Damn, it was deserted_./  Once they got on the highway she guessed his destination.  She'd hoped someone would be around, but the park was empty, the full moon the only illumination.  She had a bad feeling she was going to die here. / _At least Cassie and Janet are safe_./  A deserted park isn't totally bad.  There are no innocent civilians to get in his way.  She heard the rear door open.

"Some thing never change.  You still keep your survival kit in your car."  Jonus' words sparked a memory in Sam.  She tried not to let the hope show as she casually joined Jonus at the back of the vehicle.

"Old habits die hard." she forced herself to say.

"What else do you have stashed in here?"

"I think I have a couple of MREs.  Are you hungry?  We could have a picnic, just like we used to."

"A picnic. Yeah that sounds great."  Sam dug in the box and pulled out a couple of the meal packets.  She held them out to Jonus.  Just a she felt his hands close over them, she opened her hand, clumsily dropping them on the ground.

"Oh I'm so sorry.  I'm such a clutz."

"That's OK dear." he replied kindly as he bent down to pick them up.  Sam swiftly grabbed the knife she kept in the box and deftly slid it into the inner pocket of her coat.  She then quickly grabbed two bottles of water.

"No wine...I guess water will have to do."

"Being with you...water will taste like wine."

/_Oh please_./  Sam forced a smile onto her face.  "You say the sweetest things." /_I'm gonna be sick./_  Hansen took Sam's hand in his and began to draw her forward.

"Come my dear.  You chariot awaits."  Jonus approached the locked gate to the bridge and shot off the padlock holding it closed. _/That's one less bullet he can use against me_./  They walked past the closed concession stand, the full moon casting eerie shadows.  Jonus led Sam onto the long suspension bridge.  The thick cables were gilded silver in the moonlight.  In the silence of night the thick wooden planks creaked as the ever present breeze caused the bridge to sway slightly.  Sam could hear the river roaring a hundred stories below.  She racked her brain trying to anticipate Jonus' next move.  Was he going to propose again?  Would he kill her if she refused?

"Here we are my dear."  Jonus stopped almost in the middle of the span.

"Jonus...what?"

"It's very simple my dear.  I truly ascended to god hood once the people of 513 threw me through that gate and freed me from my mortal coil.  I don't have access to a stargate but this will do."

"Do for what?"  /_This isn't good./_  Jonus tightly grabbed Sam's arms and backed her into the side of the bridge.

"Don't you understand?  For you to truly become my goddess you must also shed your mortal coil.  This spectacular bridge will be your stargate.  Then you shall truly become my Goddess."  Sam  realized he planned to throw her off the bridge to certain death upon the rocks or in the river 1000 feet below. /_I don't think so buster_./ She swiftly brought up her right knee, smashing it into his groin.  His hands released her as he fell to the planking with an anguished cry.  Sam tore herself away and desperately ran towards her car. / _If I can just get to the car...spare key_.../

Her flight was halted with a sharp report and a searing pain in her side that sent her crashing to the wooden boards.  She fell hard, the air leaving her lungs in a large whoosh.  She lay there for a second desperately trying to force air into her lungs.  The oxygen she was starting to take in was forced back out by a sharp kick from Hansen's boot in her injured side.  She didn't even have enough breath to even cry out, instead her eyes welled up with tears of pain. 

Hansen rolled her onto her back and climbed on top of her, leaning over to cruelly grasp her hair and push the muzzle of his gun under her chin.  "I wanted you to start your godhood unblemished, but I guess it is not to be."  As his fingers tightened on the trigger she forced her fingers to obey.  She yanked the knife from her pocket and rammed it into his chest with all her failing strength.  In the moonlight she saw his mad eyes widen in surprise.  She frantically rolled him off her and grasped the side of the bridge with bloody hands.  She pulled herself painfully to her feet and tried to continue her flight to her car.  She didn't see the two shadowy figures emerge from the darkness until one of them reached out and grabbed her.  She screamed in terror and began to fight.  /_How had he gotten ahead of her?  No the son of a bitch isn't gonna to kill me without a fight./  _She began to swing her arms as a voice penetrated her nightmare.

"Carter...Carter...Sam, it's Jack and Teal'c...Carter"  Jack grabbed her by her shoulders and gave her a quick shake. "MAJOR!"

That voice..."Colonel?" she asked in a shaky voice.

"It's me...it's me...it's OK...where is he?"

"Huh?"

"Sam, where's Hansen?" Jack asked gently.  Sam closed her eyes, forcing herself to calm down.

"Middle of bridge...got a gun...stabbed him." She said breathlessly.

"OK. Teal'c, stay with her."  Jack headed across the bridge snapping on his flashlight.  The beam illuminated the shiny black surface of a 9mm pistol lying on boards stained black with absorbed blood. As he picked it up he saw a faint blood trail heading towards the other side of the bridge.  He started to follow it.

"O'NEILL!" Teal'c's deep voice halted his pursuit.  Jack could tell by the tone something was terribly wrong.  He jogged back to Teal'c.  Captured in the beam of his flashlight was  a heartstopping sight.  Teal'c was on his knees, cradling a kneeling, barely conscious Sam.  Jack knelt by the duo.

"Carter?"

"He...sorta...got me first."  she gasped.  Jack looked down and was horrified by the sight.  The lower part of her shirt and her jeans were soaked with dark blood.

"Oh Carter." Jack groaned.  Teal'c took off his T-shirt and pushed it against the wound as a makeshift pressure bandage.  His actions caused her to gasp in pain. "Damn. Hang on Carter."  She nodded weakly as Jack began to wrack his brains for a way to get her out of here.  The radio in his back pocket squawked.

"Sierra gulf one this is chopper one.  Ready to offer assistance." /_Way to go Daniel./_  Jack pulled the forgotten radio out.

"Chopper one, what's your 20?"

"25 miles east of Fort Carson."

"Chopper one I need you at the  Royal Gorge bridge ASAP for medial EVAC."

"10-4 sierra gulf one.  ETA 10 minutes."

"10-4 chopper one.  Teal'c let's get her to the parking lot."  Teal'c nodded and picked Sam up.  She moaned slightly.  Jack shot a regretful look behind him.  First light,  he vowed, as soon as he knew Sam was going to be OK he was coming back and hunt that bastard down.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Doc?"  Doctor Warner exited the OR, pulling his surgical cap off his head as he walked.

"She's alive.  Critical but alive.  The bullet nicked an artery and she needed 5 pints of blood, but barring any complications she'll be right as rain in a few weeks."

"Can we see her?"  Dr. Warner took one look at the motley group in front of him.  The near-sighted anthropologist who was nursing his 5th cup of coffee, the big shirtless alien standing so stiffly against the wall and the wise

cracking colonel with  haunted  eyes.

"She won't be awake for hours..."  He held up his hand to ward off the protest he knew was coming "...but Dr. Jackson, you may go sit with her now.  I imagine she'll need a friendly face."  He shot Jack and Teal'c a look that stopped their protest. "You two may join him AFTER you have showered and changed clothes.  I won't have you upsetting her when she sees you covered in blood."  Jack and Teal'c looked at themselves, finally realizing their clothes were liberally stained with Sam's blood.  Daniel shot them a look.

"I'll keep her company."  His companions nodded and headed toward the locker room.  Jack turned back to the doctor.

"Thank You."  Dr. Warner nodded and watched the men turn the corner.  Then he went to his office, picked up the phone and briefed a very concerned general.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam slowly surfaced from oblivion.  The faint beeps and clicks told her she was safe.  She was in the infirmary.  Was Daniel hurt again?  She slowly forced her eyes open and met the gentle gaze of Daniel.

"Daniel." she tried to say, but the word came out a thin whisper.

"Sam, you're at the SGC.  You're safe."  She still wasn't sure what happened but that was enough for now.  She closed her eyes and fell back asleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Three days later when Colonel Jack O'Neill walked in and sat beside her bed she was dozing in a morphine haze. If it wasn't for the IV he would just think she was playing possum.  But he'd seen her chart, he knew what was hidden under the covers, how many stitches it'd taken to put her back together.  That bastard Hansen had a lot to answer for.  Sam, sensing the presence of another person, opened her eyes.

"Hey?"

"Hey."

"How ya feeling?"

"Hurts like hell, but I hear I'll live." She gave him a wan smile.  "Think bikinis are out for a while though."

"That's a depressing thought." Jack joked, wanting to put off telling her his news.

"You didn't find him did you?" Jack ran his hand through his short hair.

 "No." he admitted. "We followed the blood trail for 10 miles.  Then it just stopped. Right in the middle of the prairie.  As much blood as he lost he should be...hell he ought to be dead."

"But no body?" She pressed.

"No. No body."  Sam nodded and  closed her eyes.

"Then he's still out there."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Marvin pulled his truck to the side of the road and rolled down the passenger window.

"Hey buddy? Need a ride?"  The man limped over to the truck and gratefully climbed in. 

"Thanks."

"Where you headed?"

"Thought I'd give Denver a try." Marvin looked at his passenger , taking in his ill fitting clothes and military hair cut.  Another homeless vet he decided.

"Nice town. You OK?  I noticed your limp."

"Fine, just had a bit of an accident."

"That's  a bummer."  The hitchhiker looked out the window at the road sign.  Colorado Springs...why did that sound familiar?

"Name's Marvin."

"I'm Sam."

"Nice to meet you Sam.  You belong to that car a few miles  back?"

"No."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next day the Colorado Highway Patrol investigated the abandoned car.  In the trunk they were horrified to find the body of a man, his throat cut, sloppily dressed in ill fitting military issue clothing.  After the MP's at Fort Carson confirmed the man was not one of theirs it was assumed the clothes came from a thrift store or military surplus.  The police report noted the two types of blood on the torn clothes and the letters J.H. written into the lining. The case was filed away with other unsolved carjackings

fin


	3. Chapter 3

   Full Circle

By

Denise

Her feet slapped the gravel in rhythm with the beat of the music pouring from her head phones.  The footsteps and the muted music were the only sounds that broke the post dawn silence of the park.  Five miles, roughly two laps around the park were her daily ritual. 

Today that ritual would end.  She never saw the shape separate itself from the back of the pinion tree.  If she had, she would have ran for her life.  Her hearing impaired, she was surprised to feel the arm wrap itself around her waist and pull her off the track.  A large, rough hand clamped over her mouth, choking the scream bubbling up in her throat.  She fought for her life. She failed. Within minutes it was over.  Her body would not be found for hours, by then the red sandy soil was stained black with blood.  The look of surprise and terror was forever frozen on her white face, if you could stand to look beyond the grisly sight of the slit throat. 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Major Samantha Carter pulled her jeep into the garage and waited impatiently for the automatic door to close.  She left the vehicle and entered her new house, disarming the security system as she went.  One week down time.  They didn't often get so much time off at once, especially when they returned in one piece and she planned to make good use of it.  The Colonel was coming by in an hour and they, Daniel and Teal'c were all heading to the back country for a few days of skiing and more desirable as far as Sam was concerned, nights beside a fire.

About an hour later she dashed out the door, skis and baggage in tow.  She'd quickly glanced over her mail, hurriedly dashing off the few bills that were due, putting them in the mailbox to be picked up tomorrow, and watered her neglected plants, promising more care when she returned.  In her hurry, she didn't notice the blinking light on the answering machine. 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 Three days later a very relaxed and tired Sam Carter let herself into the house and waved good-bye to her friends.  The skiing had been fun, but now she craved some alone time.  Bubble bath, ice cream and an old movie were on the top of her list. 

She was just starting to transfer her clothes from the suitcase to the dirty clothes hamper when the door bell rang.  "Guys...you are not hanging out here," she threatened as she checked the peep hole.  Two strangers stood on her porch.  She carefully put the chain on the door and eased it open.

"Hello?"

"Samantha Carter?"

"Yes?"

"I'm Detective Parkins and this is Detective Williams with the Colorado Springs Police Department. Can we speak with you?" As he spoke the detectives pulled out gold shields and flashed them towards Sam.  She pushed the door closed, released the chain and opened the door.

"What can I do for you detective?"

"May we come in?"  Sam opened the door wider and allowed the two men into her house.  She shut the door and followed them into the living room. 

"Have a seat," she offered as she sat down.  "What's this about?"

"We're investigating the recent murders in the Garden of the Gods park."

"What murders?"

The detectives looked puzzled, the murders were front page news all over the Colorado Springs area.  Seeing the look on their faces Sam quickly explained, "I've been out of town for a while."  The two men looked at each other.  Parkins spoke up.

"Over the last two weeks, four women have been murdered in the Garden of the Gods Park.  Their throats have been slit."  Sam blanched.

"That's awful, but what does it have to do with me?"

"The last victim  put up a fight and apparently the attacker dropped his weapon.  We matched the fingerprints to a Jonus Hansen.  During a background search we found out you and he were once engaged.  We're thinking maybe you have an idea where he is?"

/Oh my God...this can not be happening./  Sam fumbled for a second. "Um...I'm afraid I can't help you.  Jonus was declared MIA over two years ago.  And our engagement was over years before that."

"Really? Then how do you explain his prints being on a murder weapon?"

"I can't."

"Maybe you can tell us your where abouts for the last two weeks?"

"Well my friends and I were skiing and camping in the back country, I just got back a couple of hours ago.  Before that I was on a mission."

"Mission?"

"I'm a major in the US Air Force attached to Cheyenne Mountain.  I was on a mission."

"Where?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"I'm afraid that's classified."

"Classified?...You gotta be kidding me?"

"NO I'm not...Look you can call my CO, General George Hammond if you want to.  He can vouch for me."  Sam stood up.  "Now gentlemen, if you don't have anything else, I've been on the road since early this morning and I really need some sleep."  Taking the hint the two detectives stood up and headed towards the door.

"If you hear from Hansen, you'll let us know?"

"Believe me detectives, if Jonus shows up on my door step you'll be the first people I call,"  She said with a sincerity that told the experienced detective things weren't all wine and roses between the pair. 

They left and Sam leaned against the door for a second before quickly throwing the dead bolt.  She made a quick check of the house, securing the windows and making sure the security system was armed.  Then she sat down and picked up the phone, dialing the number only a handful of people outside of the SGC even knew existed.

"General, it's Major Carter...Sir we have a problem."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Down the street the two detectives watched the young woman go from room to room checking windows.

"Bet she had that dead bolt thrown before we even got in our car."

"No bet.  Did you see the security system?"

"Yeah.  Reminds me of the ones I used to see on base during my army days.  Takes a bit of clout to get one of those in a personal residence."

"There's no way she's helping him.  From the look on her face, I'd say their history has been far from good."

"Could explain one thing though."

"What's that?"

"Maybe the reason all the victims have been blonde," he suggested as they drove off.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Colonel Jack O'Neill walked the halls of the SGC, his civilian clothes causing a few envious glances from the duty staff.  He just returned Teal'c to his quarters and remembered a couple of things he needed from his office.

"Colonel, has SG-1 been recalled?"  Jack turned to meet the gaze of Lt. Graham Simmons.

"No Lieutenant. I'm just picking up a few things.  Why do you ask?"

"Well I saw Major Carter go into the general's office and then I saw you and Teal'c return...I just assumed you'd been recalled."  Jack's curiosity piqued, he brushed by Simmons.

"Thank you Lieutenant," he said abstractly as he made his way to Hammond's office.

Jack knocked on the door wondering why Sam was on base.  He'd dropped her off at her house just a couple of hours before.  He hoped nothing happened to her father. /Good grief, if Jacob's gotten himself captured again.../

"Come."  Jack walked into the office.  Sam was sitting in one of the chairs hunched over, her  chin resting on her hands.  General Hammond wasn't behind his desk, instead he was sitting in a chair beside her, a serious look on his face.

"General, sorry to intrude...I heard Carter was on the base and thought maybe something was wrong?"

Hammond sighed."That's one way to put it colonel."

"Sir?" Jack looked from Hammond to Sam.  She took a deep breath and spoke in a quiet voice that sent chills down Jack's spine.

"Jonus is back."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next morning SG-1 sat in the briefing room awaiting the arrival of General Hammond.  Teal'c sat impassively at the table, his customary stillness a marked contrast to Daniel Jackson's fidgeting.  The young archaeologist's well known affinity for coffee often meant he rode a caffeine high.  Jack sat slumped in his chair, his face slightly haggard from a relatively sleepless night.  He, Sam and Hammond sat up most of the night trying to find options.

Jack looked at his second in command.  Her mug of coffee sat untouched on the table. Her eyes stared straight ahead but he knew she saw nothing in the room.  She sat back in the chair her arms crossed over her middle in an unconscious protective gesture.  Occasionally her left hand would move, feeling the scar he knew was hidden under her clothes.

During their last encounter with Hansen the lunatic shot her leaving a wound that had taken 50 stitches and two months to heal.  Physically she was fine but emotionally she was still hurting.

In the last six months Jack watched Sam struggle to put her life back together.  With the bad memories of his attack too vibrant, Sam sold the house she'd taken over from her father.  Jack had helped her install the security system Hammond provided, he didn't even ask how the general got a military issue system OK'd for a private residence but he'd been a willing accomplice.  He also knew she always carried her sidearm now.  He'd been shocked the first time he'd noticed the gun on her person.  He'd never seen her carry her gun when not on a mission, heck she used to lock it up in the armory before she left the base. According to Janet the only time she relinquished the weapon now was when Cassie was around.  Jack was incredibly thankful for that.  He had all too tragic memories of how guns and kids didn't mix.

Once she'd been cleared for active duty Jack watched his friend throw herself into her work.  She would spend days on end at the base.  A few times she'd volunteered to fill gaps in other SG teams, looking for any excuse to go off world.

Jack knew what she was doing. He'd been guilty of burying himself in his work a time or two. The SGC was her only sanctuary on Earth. Other planets however, they were much safer.  There was no way Hansen could get at her there.  According to Daniel, other planets were the only places she knew peaceful sleep.

Jack had his own way of dealing with his anger at Hansen.  After Hansen shot her he'd escaped into the Colorado wilderness.  The moment Jack knew his teammate and friend was out of danger, he and Teal'c set out to track him down.  Once word of their search spread around the base Jack found himself deluged with volunteers for some "field exercises". 

Makepeace and his team of Marines were first, followed quickly by Feretti and SG-2.  For a month nearly every able-bodied soldier in the SGC searched the surrounding area. 

All their efforts were in vain.  It was as if Hansen simply grew wings and flew away.

Six months later and things were finally getting back to the way they were before that mission to P4A269. /Why did I decide to play hooky on that damn planet?  If we'd just come back like good little campers that psycho would still be marooned light years away. Hell I should have left him there. Least he could only hurt himself.  But no I had to do the 'never leave a man behind' routine./

His guilt ridden thoughts were broken by the entrance of General Hammond into the briefing room.  SG-1 automatically stood up as he entered the room.

"As you were people," he said as he took his customary place at the head of the table.  The general took a deep breath and began.

"I'm assuming all of you are acquainted with the situation.  Besides having a serial killer terrorizing Colorado Springs, a murderer who's apparently one of our own, we also have to consider the threat he is for the SGC in general.  There's a man out there who not only possesses full knowledge of this program, but his mental instability means he's a tremendous security risk."

"Yeah, let's not forget how many SGC personnel he's killed," Jack put in.

"And tried to," Teal'c quietly interjected.  His comment brought a moment of awkward quiet over the group.

"So," Jack broke the silence, "just how are we going to track this SOB down?  Last time we managed to keep the local PD out of it."

"I think it's a little too late for that," Observed Daniel.  "We have four grieving families out there."

"I just got off the phone with an old buddy of mine. Now he's with the FBI heading up the Violent Crimes Task Force."

"FBI? General, isn't that a little extreme?" asked Jack.

"Bailey Malone's group specializes in serial killers.  And since he's ex-military he's got enough clearance to know some..."

"And he knows when to take classified for an answer," concluded Jack.  Hammond nodded. "So when does this Malone arrive?"

"He and his team are due to land in an hour.  I've arranged for offices to be set aside on the base.  Obviously Cheyenne Mountain of off limits.  Teal'c will also need to keep a very low profile."

"So, it's back to deep space radar analysis kids," Jack quipped.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So Bailey, why exactly are we going to Colorado?" Doctor Samantha Waters asked, pushing her shoulder length blonde hair behind her ears.

"I received a call from an old buddy of mine, a General George Hammond..."

"Ooh hobnobbing with the brass," interjected Detective John Grant.

"George and I were on some black ops together a few years ago."

"A few years Bailey?" Dr. Grace Alvarez shot her boss a look.

"Careful Gracie. Seems Colorado Springs has acquired itself a slasher.  Over the last two weeks four women have been murdered, throats slit."  As he spoke Bailey passed around pictures of the victims and crime scenes. "All were attacked and killed in the Garden of the Gods park in Colorado Springs."

"Any connection on the victims?" asked Sam. 

Bailey shook his head. "I've got George looking into that.  Right now the only similarity is a lack of sexual assault. All four victims were solitary joggers or bikers so they may have been victims of opportunity..."

"And they're all blondes," John spoke up.  At his words everyone looked at Sam, the only blonde in the group.

"At least he has taste," she quipped, "Do the local PD have any leads?"

"They actually have a suspect, and it's a doozy.  Apparently victim number four put up a fight. The local ME retrieved skin, blood and hair from under her fingernails.  They also found a knife near the body...a military issue K-Bar knife at least 15 years old with the initials J.C. carved into the butt.  There were also identifiable prints on the knife.  NCIC matched them to a Captain Jonus Hansen, USAF."

"Bailey, if they have all that what do they need us for?"

"Yeah Bailey, sounds like it's manhunt time."

"Wish it was that easy John.  Seems Jonus Hansen was listed MIA/Presumed KIA over two years ago on a classified mission."

"So a dead man is slicing and dicing in Colorado?"

"Bailey, sounds more like they need Scully and Mulder than the VCTF."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So Colonel, care to explain to us how an officer listed as MIA managed to make it home with no one noticing?  And where did you say he was lost?"  Jack shifted in his chair, frustration evident on his face. Why the hell did Hammond have to call in this FBI agent?  Heck it would of been far easier to have swept the park with SGC personnel and get this whole mess over with.

Jack and Sam were sitting in the borrowed offices on Fort Carson.  The three members of the VCTF were scattered around the room.  All in all Jack was less than impressed. 

Agent Bailey Malone looked more like a character from a bad gangster movie than an FBI agent.  Detective John Grant looked and acted  like a male model.  Daniel had taken Dr. Grace Alvarez to the ME's office so she could see if she could find any evidence the local ME missed.  Jack refused to even think about all THAT might entail. And the last member of the group, she was the strangest.  Dr. Samantha Waters, damn there were way too many doctors in this group, kept giving him strange looks.  Jack found himself wondering if he had something stuck in his teeth.

"We have no idea how Hansen made it back.  As to how he got in the country, hell I imagine there are a dozen illegials in county lock up right now. You can ask them.  And where he was, I already told you that's classified.  Let's just say he was out of the country. Look, can we move past the how and concentrate on catching the SOB?"

"Colonel O'Neill, for us to have a chance of catching him we need your cooperation.  I need to know all you can tell me about Hansen." Dr. Waters requested quietly.

"You have his file."

"Colonel, what we have is a list of vital statistics with way too many black boxes.  Now unless you want me to sign him up with a dating service, this doesn't do us a bit of good," Bailey said, tossing the file onto the desk.

"Look Agent Malone, you're ex-military, you've heard of classified?"

"Jonus likes control," Sam said quietly, breaking up the impending argument.  All eyes turned to the woman who had remained mostly silent until now. "Five years ago we were engaged.  I broke it off when I worked late one night.  I came home to find him waiting outside my apartment.  We argued, he hit me.  I told him the engagement was off but he didn't really leave me alone until he was transferred. Almost three years ago we were assigned to the same project.  He seemed OK but while on a mission he began to act erratically."

"How erratically?"

"He...almost developed a god complex.  There were some deaths, civilian and his own men."

"Why wasn't anything done?"

"He never came home from that mission.  He was MIA. End of story."

"I don't think so," Dr. Waters prodded.  Jack and Sam looked at each other. 

Jack continued. "We found him nearly two years later.  One minute he would have no idea of what he'd done, the next he was trying to kill anyone he could get his hands on.  We managed to bring him home.  He was committed to a military psychiatric hospital."

"But why's he still MIA?" John asked.

"Because if he's alive then Uncle Sam had to take responsibility for his actions.  And I'm guessing he's one hell of a security risk.  How better to discredit him than to have him labeled nuts," Bailey said. Jack refused to comment and the group sat in strained silence for a few minutes.

Finally John broke the silence. "Well, I don't suppose we can simply cordon off the park and round this guy up?"

Jack shook his head.  "There are literally miles of walks and trails.  There's no set boundary to the park, hell some people even live next to it.  It's right in the middle of Manitou Springs just a few miles from the highway.  It'd take hundreds of people to seal it off. It was designed to be accessible."

"Sounds like our best bet would be a decoy.  Get someone out in the park that fits his victim profile and see if he takes the bait," Bailey concluded.

"Well that'd be great of we knew who his next victim is,"  Jack said sarcastically.  At his words the members of the VCTF exchanged looks.

Bailey spoke up."I take it you haven't seen the police reports.  All the victims have been solitary joggers or bikers.  All female, and all blonde."

"Oh for crying out loud," Jack muttered.

"It's you," John said looking at Sam Carter, "You're who he's trying to kill." At his words what little color Sam had in her cheeks drained away.  She got a look on her face reminiscent to the one Jack'd seen on the bridge when she'd realized she'd been shot, a horrific mixture of pain, shock and utter disbelief.

"Excuse me," she muttered as she hurried from the room.  Jack shot John a look that definitely made the detective glad the colonel wasn't armed as he followed his comrade from the room.

"John, moments like this answer the question of why you're still single," Bailey remarked, a slight note of censure in his voice.

"Bailey," Sam Waters spoke up, " Jonus has done more than just hit her.  There's a lot they're not telling us."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack found Sam in a nearby stairwell sitting on one of the concrete steps propping her head on  her hands.  He sat beside her.

"That guy's a jerk," he drawled, "Should lock him in a room with Teal'c...let the big guy scare him some manners.  Maybe introduce him to Junior.  That should shut him up for a while." 

Sam got  a tiny smile on her face. "Or make him toss his cookies."

"Yeah, all over his 200 shoes."  Sam closed her eyes and shook her head slightly. "None of this is your fault you know."

"Right," she replied, sarcasm heavy in her voice, "I could have stopped him." She reached under her jacket and pulled out her pistol, holding it in front of her. "One bullet and none of this would have happened."

"Sam, you are NOT a killer."

"Yes I am."

Jack sighed. "OK, you've killed people...to save your life, our lives, civilian lives.  You did what you had to.  We all have.  That is totally different from what Hansen is.  He's a monster, no guilt, no remorse.  Hell he probably enjoys killing.  You don't.  I remember the look on your face when you killed Seth.  You were sick for  a week.  That's the kind of person I want watching my back."

"Someone who can use an alien weapon to smash some guy into the ground?"

"No. Someone who gives a damn.  Ya know I once said Daniel was the conscience of this team.  That wasn't true. You are too.  You're the voice of reason that keeps us on an even keel.  As a matter of fact, the day you can kill and not regret it is the day you hang up your boots and find a lab somewhere full of geeky egg heads whose idea of excitement is staying up until 0200 to watch a  meteor shower." 

Sam laughed at the image. "I'd die of boredom in a week."

"Whatta you say we go see if Danny's come back with that doctor of theirs.  Maybe she's come up with something."  Sam stood up, shoving her pistol back into its holster.  "I just hope she doesn't have visual aids," Jack continued.

"Afraid you'll toss your cookies sir?"

"Hey, this is my best pair of shoes."  Sam raised her eyebrows and looked at the battered pair of loafers on Jack's feet.  He followed her gaze. "It took years to break these in," he said as he got up and opened the door to the stairwell.  He made a sweeping gesture with his free hand. "After you Major."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I gotta tell you Bailey, their ME knows his stuff.  If I ever decide to give up this glamorous life I'd recommend him to replace me."  Jack and Sam heard Grace say as they returned to the office.  Daniel looked up as the door opened.

"There you guys are."

"Have fun in the morgue Danny?"

"Nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there."  His comment caused Jack to shake his head and Sam to fight back a giggle.

"Private joke," Jack said in explanation to the VCTF's curious looks. "What'd we miss?" he continued as he perched in the edge of a desk, Daniel having taken his chair.

"Not much," Bailey reported as he glanced at Grace.

She continued, "Bruises on the victims indicate no excessive force, merely restraint.  He has no real pattern.  Seems to simply grab them and pull them into the brush.  Death was caused by a single, unhesitating slash to the throat.  This guy knows what he's doing."

"What about the weapon?" Sam Waters asked.

"Pretty straight forward," Grace reported as she pulled a plastic wrapped knife out of her bag.  "Military issue K-Bar, at least 15 years old.  Don't even think about tracing it.  There are about a million out there.  The only distinguishing mark is the initials J.C. scratched into the butt, very amateurishly I might add.  Fragments of the blade found in the wounds match perfectly.  It is the murder weapon. Not that it does us much good."

"Why not?" Daniel asked. 

Sam Waters answered him. "Because when he kills again he'll have to use another weapon.  Which will make it harder to link all the murders to a single doer."

Sam got up and walked toward Grace. "Can I see that?" she asked.  Grace shrugged and handed it over. Sam took it and examined the bloody knife closely through the plastic bag.

"Mean anything to you major?" Bailey asked.

"It's my father's."

"What?"

"You're sure?" 

Sam nodded and pointed to the butt of the knife."I scratched the initials on it myself." 

"You put his initials on his K-Bar?" Jack asked incredulously. 

Sam shrugged sheepishly. "I was ten, twelve.  Anyway, he obviously couldn't take it with him.  It sat in a drawer for years.  I found it one day and put it in my winter survival gear in the back of my car.  The last time I saw it was six months ago." Catching the look that passed between the three people Bailey spoke up.

"What happened six months ago?" he asked in a tone that left no room for prevarication. 

Jack sighed and spoke up. "Six months ago Jonus kidnapped and tried to kill Carter.  He must have taken it from her car then."  He lied remembering all too well how Jonus had gotten the knife, how Sam stabbed him with it. 

John spoke up. "As fascinating as this is, it still doesn't answer how we're gonna catch this guy?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Don't worry Colonel, there are twenty officers around her.  There's no way Hansen can get to her," Bailey assured Jack.

"Oh I wouldn't be too sure about that. That man has more lives than a bloody cat."  The two men along with Daniel and Sam Waters were sitting in the back of a surveillance van parked in the Garden of the Gods park.  At Jack's insistence, Sam was at Cheyenne Mountain.  Not that he had any doubts about her safety in the van, but he still felt better knowing if the worst happened there were a dozen marines and Teal'c between Hansen and her.

Through video feeds from miniature remote cameras, they were keeping an eye on the blonde woman who was walking around the park, trying not to look like she was watching for a killer.

"He'll never fall for this," Daniel said quietly.

"You'd be surprised," Sam Waters interjected, "Once the killing becomes a compulsion they literally can't not kill."

"Doctor, I'm no psychologist but I don't think he's killing simply to kill.  He wants Sam."  At Bailey's sharp look he continued, "Not...aah this Sam...I mean he's not after your Sam...not to imply...but...um...he wants to kill our Sam.  Sam Carter Sam..."

"You said Major Carter moved, changed her phone number, basically made herself hard to find since his original attack?" Sam Waters said, rescuing Daniel mid blunder with a small smile.

"Right," he answered.

"Well in most cases serial killers kill surrogates because they are unable or unwilling to kill the source of their problems.  The simple fact that all four victims were blonde suggests he is venting his frustration at not having Major Carter available.  As he kills each victim he's hoping to flush her out."

"The...aah...criminal mind is your area of expertise doctor, but I have a strange feeling he won't fall for it...I mean he has to know we know it's him.  The four victims were...like...an invitation and now he's not going to accept anyone but the real thing not...not some stand-in,"  Daniel said as he looked at the blonde police woman who volunteered to be potential victim number five.

"Well, Officer Murray is the closest we'll get...unless the major want to volunteer," Bailey said wryly.  Jack shot the older man a hard look.

"That is NOT an option."  The two men stared each other down for a minute.  Then Bailey, recognizing a kindred, overprotective spirit relented.

"OK, so we hope Hansen's urge to kill overcomes his desire to kill the major."

"So, now what do we do?" Daniel asked, watching the interaction between the two men. /I wonder how Malone would react if we suggested his Sam be the bait?/

"We wait."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Your guy's good," Bailey admitted.

"Well I thought your guys were better," Jack replied, censure in his voice.

"It would take 200 men to secure that park.  We only had 20." John defended his superior.

"For crying out loud, he walked right past your guys and left us a note on the freaking windshield of the van.  You call this security?"

"Now wait just a minute..."  The heated debate was cut short when the door opened revealing Daniel and Sam.

"Sam..." Jack started.

"Daniel told me.  You didn't get him. Can I see the note?" She cut him off holding out her hand.

"Look, Major it's not going to ..."

"Let me see it sir," she demanded, the steely tone in her voice reminiscent of when she refused to leave Jacob to his fate in the Tok'ra tunnels.  After three years, Jack knew when to surrender. 

He nodded to Bailey who handed Sam the plastic wrapped piece of paper.

            _No more games, no more tricks.  Let my Sami come to me ALONE here in                                     our garden.  If you do not let her come I will reveal it, everything.                                       Tomorrow morning or I will end your evil cover-up.  _

"So what time do we leave?" Sam asked.

"You are NOT going into that park," O'Neill stated, very emphatically as he got to his feet.

"Yes I am," Sam replied just as emphatically.

"NO. Dammit Sam, you got a death wish?  He's tried to kill you TWICE."

"Look Colonel...Jack, I'm tired of hiding from him.  I'm NOT going to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder.  This is going to end here and now."  The two officers were now standing face to face, toe to toe.

"Jack...this might be the only way to end this."  Daniel spoke up quietly.  Jack spun around to face his friend.

"Dammit Daniel, don't you start.  The guy is a psycho with a capital P."

"All the more reason to get him off the streets." /And keep the stargate a secret./

"Major," Bailey spoke up, "Are you sure you want to do this?" Sam turned to face the agent.

"Look Agent Malone, if you had some nutcase following you around trying to kill you, how long would you let it go on before you ended it?  I'm sick of running."

"Bailey," Sam Waters spoke up for the first time in the meeting, "Let her do it."

"Sam..." Bailey started.

"Let her," she stated with just as much steel in her voice as the other Sam.  Jack and Bailey exchanged looks, knowing when they were beaten.

"OK, but you wear a wire," Bailey said.

"And I'm out there with you," Jack stated.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"My feet are killing me."

"Could be worse Colonel. I'm cooking in this vest."  Listening to their conversation in the van Bailey spoke into the radio.

"It's been three hours. Maybe we should call it a day."

"No, he's here somewhere," Sam insisted. "I'm going to go a bit further in."

"Carter..." O'Neill said, warning in his voice.

"I'm not going far. Just gonna find some place shady...sit down a minute."  Jack hung back a bit, watching Sam saunter down the path.  He let her get about 10 yards down the trail then he followed her, tugging his cap lower as he went.  He saw her sit on a stone railing around a small patio.  Jack looked around, trying to find an unobtrusive place to stand.  /They definitely need more benches in this park./

A sudden burst of high pitch yelling caught his attention.  Jack turned to see about 40 kids run from their bus followed swiftly by two very harried looking teachers.  He grinned at the innocent exuberance on their faces as they ran around him.

"Brings back memories huh Carter?"  Jack asked.  Not hearing an immediate response he looked where Sam had been sitting. "Dammit!" he cursed. She was gone. He ran towards the patio, all thoughts of discretion forgotten.  "Dammit." he repeated at the sight of her ear piece and the transmitter box from her wire lying among the scuff marks in the sandy soil.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A few minutes earlier

Sam sat on the railing, scanning the sparse workday crowds.  She picked out the colonel's ballcap moving closer.  The sound of children caught her attention.  She saw the kids running down the path and smiled.  /Those were definitely the good old days./  

Suddenly a hand clamped over her mouth as an arm wrapped itself around her waist and pulled her off the rail.  She tried to struggle but the hand just tightened, cutting off her air.  She felt a rough hand jerk the ear piece out of her ear then yank the transmitter off her belt.  He tossed both items on the ground and pulled her pistol from its holster. "Don't fight me or I'll kill him.  You don't want all those kids involved in a firefight do you?" she heard a voice whisper harshly.  "Answer me!" he insisted. Sam frantically grabbed at his hand as she shook her head. 

Jonus pushed the pistol against her temple, "Scream and I shoot you," he promised. Sam nodded  and he loosened his hand. She desperately sucked in some much needed oxygen.  Jonus regained his feet and pulled Sam up. "Be good or people die," he threatened again as he pulled her after him. "I know somewhere safe...where they'll never find us."

"Jonus..." Sam choked out. He released his grip on her waist and grabbed her wrist instead.

 "Ssh," he said holding the barrel of the pistol over her lips. "We'll talk later." Jonus began to run pulling Sam after him through a small copse of trees and past a barricade around one of the rock formations, knocking over the 'Danger-unstable rocks' sign as he went.  He pulled her between two of the huge vertical slabs of rock and held her tight.

"Sami, I can't believe I finally found you.  I've been searching for so long.  They kept you from me. Did they hurt you?" he asked, pushing the gun into her ribs with his right hand and gently brushing a few stray strands of hair off her brow with his left.  His greater body weight held her against the rough surface of the rocks, not that she could struggle much with a gun in her side.

"Aah no, Jonus they didn't hurt me."

"Good, nobody hurts my Sami.  They kept trying to trick me, to recapture me, but I was too smart. I saw through all the decoys they sent." Sam shook her head sadly.

"Jonus, they weren't decoys. You killed four innocent women," Sam told him.

"No I wouldn't...I couldn't...they were you...I couldn't hurt you...I hurt you didn't I?...That's...that's why you hate me," he cried plaintively, tears welling up in his eyes.

Sam tried to pull herself from his grasp as she watched with morbid fascination as he shifted from caring fiancee to vicious murderer and back again.

"Carter!" she heard the colonel yell.  Jonus' eyes grew big when he heard Jack's voice. She winced as he shoved the gun painfully into her abdomen.

"NO, I won't go back...I can't...I'll stop you...you betrayed me...you...I killed didn't I?...I burned Frakes...he was alive you know...he screamed so horribly...all those people...how they suffered...your blood on my hands...my love and I killed it...those women begging, crying...I made you cry...you begged...the girl...I tried to kill a child...my god I'm a monster."  Sam watched horrified as the monster Jonus became met the man he used to be and realized they were one and the same. "Monsters should die...I should die..."

"JONUS NO!" Sam cried.

"Good-bye Sami," he said sadly as he roughly pushed her to the side, out of the rocks. 

She tripped and fell hard on her stomach.  She turned around and saw him put the gun under his own chin.

"I'm sorry," she heard him whisper as he pulled the trigger.  Sam slammed her eyes shut and turned her head away as the gunshot echoed and reverberated through the rocks.  Sam felt a hand on her shoulder and jerked around sharply. She met the concerned gaze of her colonel.

"You OK?" he asked, crouching beside her, his pistol pointed at Jonus.  Her reply was cut off by a strange grating sound as the unstable rocks in the formation strained and  shifted.  Jack grabbed Sam's arm and roughly pulled her away from the toppling rocks.  They turned and saw the red boulders fall, burying Jonus under ageless tons of weight.  The pair sat on the ground for a second, both breathing heavily.  Jack felt a hand on his shoulder and  turned to see Daniel standing behind him. 

"It's getting a little too crowded here," Daniel stated.  At his words Jack looked around noticing for the first time the combination of the gunshot and the miniature natural disaster was starting to draw a crowd.  He took Daniel's offered hand and pulled himself to his feet, shoving his pistol into its holster.  They both reached down to pull Sam up.

"Come on, let's get scarce," Jack said.  Sam just stood there.

"Sam , come on. It's over. Let's get back to the van," Daniel told her.  Sam stood there for a second then shook her head as if to clear her thoughts.

"Yeah," she mumbled. "It's over."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A knock on the hotel room door caught Bailey in mid motion.  He tossed the shirt on the bed and opened the door.

"George.  Man it's good to see you."  He opened the door to let the general walk into the room.

"Bailey.  It's been too long.  I'm sorry I couldn't get away before. Something came up," General George Hammond said as he walked into the hotel room. That something had been rescuing SG-3 and 7 from a Jaffa attack, but George couldn't tell Bailey that. 

Bailey motioned Hammond toward one of the arm chairs in the room.  Both men sat down.

"Bailey, thank you for helping us out."

"Can't say we did much.  The perp killed himself."

"True, but having the FBI involved smoothed the way a bit. I owe you one."

"How about a few answers?"  George looked warily at his old friend.

"Depends on the question." 

Bailey reached into his briefcase and pulled out a folder. "I did a little digging.  Seems your Colonel O'Neill is ex-special forces.  I think he's actually been on a few more black ops than we were.  Not the kind of guy you would expect to see playing with radar dishes."

"Some of our dishes are in remote locations.  The locals aren't always friendly."

"And your  Doctor Daniel Jackson.  A doctor of archaeology who was laughed out of academia a few years ago for suggesting the pyramids and other ancient structures were all built by, let me see if I got this right, aliens?" Bailey asked skepticism on his face.

"He's also a linguist.  Works as a translator between us and the indigenous people." Bailey nodded.

"Your Doctor Carter, now she actually fits in.  Theoretical astrophysicist.  Though I wonder about the Air Medal she and Colonel O'Neill received a while back. Thought they only awarded those for valor in combat.  Didn't know satellite dishes fought back." 

George didn't comment.

"And her father.  Almost two years ago he was in the hospital, at death's door from what I hear.  Then he was abruptly returned to active duty.  He has monthly checks from the Air Force deposited into an account which has never been touched.  He has no active credit cards, his drivers license is expired and he has no phone, or even address.  It's like he dropped off the face of the earth."

"Jacob is living over seas." 

Bailey snorted in disbelief. "George, what ever you're doing in that mountain of yours...is it good?"

"The best assignment I've ever had," General Hammond stated truthfully as he stood up.  Bailey also stood up and held out his hand to his friend.

"Good. You ever need my help again, just call."

"Nothing personal Bailey, but I hope I don't need to."

George started to walk towards the door. "Oh, I almost forgot." He reached inside his coat and pulled out two cigars and offered them to Bailey.  The younger man read the label and shook his head.

"I could arrest you for these," he teased as he smelled the Cuban cigars appreciatively.

"The evidence would never last until the trial," George replied with a knowing smile.

 "Take care of yourself Bailey.  You got some good people working for you."

"So do you George.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Sam, what are we doing here of all places?" Daniel asked plaintively.

"I just need to do something," Sam replied. "I'll be back in a minute."  She got out of the car, ignoring the slight twinge from her bruises.  Fortunately a few bruises and scrapes were her only reminders of the last few days. 

Jack, Daniel and Teal'c watched their friend walk through the gate to the Royal Gorge Bridge.  Jack opened his door and started to get out.

"Jack, she said she wanted to be alone." Jack shot him a look. Teal'c also opened the door, tugging his cap more firmly over his tattoo on his forehead. "Guys, I really hate bridges," Daniel said.

"It's OK Danny. We'll be right back." 

Daniel sat in the car for a second more, then rolled his eyes. "Oh for crying out loud," he muttered as he got out of the car, "Wait for me," he yelled, jogging to catch up with his friends.

Sam  stood at the railing of the bridge.  The bloodstains from her attack were almost faded away.  If she hadn't known what it was she would have just thought them a stain from a spilled soda pop or cup of coffee. She looked down at the river flowing a thousand feet below.  She heard a whistle and saw a train passing.  From this height it almost looked like a toy.  Five years ago she and Jonus stood here as he put a ring on her finger, asking her to share her life with him. 

Six months ago he tried to take that life from her.  Now he was dead, ironically by her own gun. The very same gun she pointed at him on P3X513.  The gun she hadn't had the nerve to fire then.  Now he was gone, the gun was gone, damaged beyond repair in the rock fall.  Not that she wanted it back.  Things had come full circle.  Time for the last piece. 

Sam stuck her hand in her pocket and pulled out a ring.  She watched the sunlight glint off the gold and diamonds of their engagement ring.

"Good-bye Jonus," She whispered as she held out her hand and turned it over.  She looked down and watched the tiny missile fall to the river below.  In her mind's eye she imagined it landing with a tiny plop and drifting to the riverbed to settle amongst the stones and silt.  Sam sighed and turned around.

"Ya know that's illegal," Jack remarked with a knowing twinkle in his brown eyes.

"Yeah you could put an eye out with that thing," Daniel teased her.

"The velocity created by even a tiny object over such a great distance would be most damaging," Teal'c said with his ever present straight face. Sam smiled.

"I told you guys I'd be right back," she chided playfully. Jack jerked his thumb at a rather squeamish looking Daniel.

"Danny wanted to see the bridge." Sam nodded knowingly.

"Well maybe we should go up to the other side and take the tram ride back.  It's got the best view."

At her suggestion Daniel looked at the tram riding an all too frail looking cable and prepared to run for his life. Sam stopped her teasing and walked over to her friends. "Just kidding Daniel.  How about a cup of coffee and some homemade fudge." She offered knowing his weakness for caffeine and chocolate.

"What is fudge?" Teal'c asked. Sam wrapped her arms around Teal'c and Daniel.

"Come on Colonel, let's show him." Sam said as the four members of SG-1 retreated across the bridge to solid ground.

XXXfinXXX   


End file.
